Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been hit with a proposed class action lawsuit in the United States, accusing the Japanese automaker of emissions cheating in nine different engines used in its forklift trucks.
The lawsuit was filed by a group of forklift purchasers on Sunday night in San Francisco federal court against Toyota and its affiliate, Toyota Industries, the world’s largest manufacturer of forklift trucks.
The complaint follows an internal investigation by Toyota in January, which revealed that the company sometimes made software modifications or swapped engines during emissions testing, allowing the forklifts to perform better under test conditions than in real-world usage.
Earlier this year, Toyota suspended some forklift sales in Japan due to emissions concerns.
However, the plaintiffs argue that the misconduct first came to light following an inquiry from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), although U.S. regulators have not taken any formal enforcement action.
"Toyota has tried to limit the damage to Japan," the complaint stated, but added that the company’s "toxic culture of fraud, negligence, and noncompliance" has affected forklift engine certifications across all markets, including the United States.
The plaintiffs, including Broadmoor Lumber & Plywood, Marders, and Ferraro Foods—businesses from California, New York, and New Jersey, respectively—claim that they would not have purchased Toyota’s forklifts had they known the vehicles failed to meet emissions standards and performed worse than advertised.
The lawsuit seeks compensatory and punitive damages, along with full refunds. Toyota and the plaintiffs' attorneys have not yet provided additional comments.